About the Book:
Just how many deaths does it take to close a holiday park?
All Lacy wants is to escape to Paris and be with her older sister. But she needs to make some money first, so she takes a summer job at a caravan park in North Wales.
When one of the guests is brutally murdered, rumours start to swirl about the park being haunted. There are sightings of a mysterious figure walking along the clifftops at night and Lacy can’t shake off the feeling that she’s being watched. Could there be some truth to the stories? And can she discover who – or what – the killer is before she becomes the next victim?
Find this book on Goodreads. Find on Bookshop.org UK (affiliate link).
About the Author:
After growing up in rural Shropshire, Tess set out to explore the world and find her place in it. She quickly rushed straight back to Shrewsbury when she realised she’d been where she belonged from the start. She now lives in a quiet suburb with a noisy partner and daughter, two extremely noisy cats, and a less noisy tortoise.
She spent years mucking out and getting trampled on by horses, before finally deciding she might prefer a less precarious office job. Between analysing insurance risk, she writes teens into terrifying situations inspired by her lived experiences.
When she’s not allowing her mind to wander to dark and twisty places, she pursues more wholesome activities, like growing mediocre vegetables in her garden, camping with her daughter, and even riding the odd horse.
Interview:
Pitch your book in 10 words!
Caravan park job from hell might just kill her…
The campsite is a resort from hell – both in terms of atmosphere (rot and decay) and also the corporate culture (no health and safety to speak of). What tips do you have for writers when creating powerful atmospheres?
Allow yourself to daydream and get inspired! I’m a real worrier, and if I ever go somewhere and find myself picturing all the things that could go horribly wrong there, then chances are it’s a good place to set a thriller. Pay attention to the little things and get curious, then try to bring those alive in the writing.
How long do you think you’d survive working at the site?
I’ve had jobs and experiences that involve sharing rooms and houses with multiple people, and they’ve always made me feel really on edge and vulnerable, especially when people are up partying and I just wanted to sleep. So I’d find that aspect really difficult – being lonely despite being so close to other people.
BETTER OFF DEAD has elements of both human and supernatural horror in it. Why do you think blending the two is so powerful?
The scariest things I can think of are those that could happen in real life, so the idea of the supernatural creeping into reality can be really disturbing. And if that’s combined with the awful things people are capable of, then it can be hard to know which you’d rather confront!
The heart of the story is Lacy being unable to trust how genuine the offers of friendship – and maybe even romance – are. It’s something many of us struggled with as teens, though not always for the horrible reasons Lacy is struggling. Why did you want to write about both genuine and insincere relationships?
I found relationships so difficult to navigate when I was a teen. I couldn’t believe anyone would want to befriend me, or like me romantically, so I was always scared that people were out to hurt me. And experiences of that being the truth at times left a real mark – it takes a long time to recover from having your trust broken, especially at such a young age. I look back and wish I’d trusted my gut a bit more – kept my guard up around the people who gave me a bad feeling and let those in who gave me no reason to distrust them.
Lacy’s relationship with her sister, Winter, who’s been absent for months, is a really complex – and in some regards, toxic – one. How much did their relationship change over the course of writing and editing the book?
When I first started drafting Winter wasn’t a major character at all, or even a character at all! But Lacy always had a voice in her head, telling her to be someone else. Eventually that voice turned into a real person who had a constant, oppressive influence on Lacy.
Lacy’s sense of smell is able to pick up on there being something wrong before she can see anything – and often long before. Why did you choose to have smell be such a crucial sense to the tale?
I think something smelling is one of the first signs that something is “off” and creates a sense of foreboding that’s often quite hard to place. That’s a feeling I really wanted to convey throughout the book.
Please recommend a UKYA book you think readers will love
YOUR MURDER NEXT* by Ravena Guron – Another clever, twisty book from Ravena!
Thank you, Tess!
*Affiliate link
#UKYASpotlight 
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